Iron
by Melancholy's Sunshine
Summary: Perhaps it was more than the media that named Iron Man. And perhaps SHIELD has more secrets than Tony thinks.
1. Chapter 1

_"_Tony, how's my favorite nephew?"

"Uncle Dean!" an excited twelve year old yelled out, running to a dark haired man who shared a striking resemblance to his own father. He wrapped his arms tightly around the junk yard artist. Warm arms circled Tony as well.

"Did you make anything new?" Tony asked. His uncle Dean smirked.

"Did I ever. It's standing in Maine."

"You mean someone bought it?" Tony asked skeptically. His uncle smiled pulling him into a headlock.

"Oh yes they did!" He laughed giving the squirming child a noogie. Tony kicked and flailed before being put down by his uncle.

"And what's it called?" Tony asked.

"The Iron Giant."

"That's a dumb name."

Dean rolled his eyes at his nephew.

"It's based off a hero."

"Like Captain America?" Tony scoffed. Dean's eyes rolled at Howard's obsession with Captain America appearing in Tony. Even if Tony denied it later, Captain America had tainted his childhood and could possibly create an unhealthy obsession rivaling his father.

"If he was an alien robot then sure."

"Alien robot?"

"Uh huh. He stood fifty feet tall."

"Fifty feet?!"

"At least."

"No way."

"Way. He was huge. Every inch was shiny metal. A marvel to behold. He walked, talked in a deep voice and had amazing yellow eyes that turned red when he was mad."

"Quit making things up."

"I'm not. The robot was so big they called in the military. They were to draw him out and then nuke him," he said dramatically.

"Whoa."

"Whoa indeed. But one man fired a little too soon. And the town was going to be nuked. No one could get out in time."

"So what happened?" Tony asked engrossed in the story.

"Well, a boy, not much older than you turned to the giant. They apparently had gotten to know each other. He said, that no one was going to survive when the nuke touched down. The robot watched as it was in the air. He then said, 'You stay. I go.' He took off into the air and intercepted the missile being blown to pieces."

"How big was the explosion?"

"Huge. The whole sky was lit up. No part of the sky was left untouched. It was terrifying."

Tony never heard such fear in his voice.

And only years later could he understand the fear. When his own missile exploded next to him. And once again when he flew into the wormhole.

He was living the same nightmare his uncle had. Just from a different perspective.

He was surprised that he remembered that when he was about to die... Twice.

There was something about the story that never really left him. Maybe it was the violence? Or the fear of the fearless? Or that it was the last time he ever saw his uncle.

Tony didn't know. But he knew that his inventions were based on Dean's art and imagination. He knew that he held one of the few postcards that held his only well received piece of art. The missing Iron Giant. Right next to his picture as Iron Man. The real hero next to a guy in a suit.

All in his desk drawer in his room.

He wanted nothing more than to see his uncle again. And maybe meet the Iron Giant. Though he was working on making his own, as if his uncle's story was true. If only SHIELD wouldn't get in the way. Apparently what he was thinking of doing was and quote "too dangerous for the safety of humanity and the functioning society of the world". And would require more vibranium than the world had to offer. He hadn't given up. From his "sources" it seemed as though SHIELD had their own little Iron Giant in the making. If the military base holding the "mysterious foreign object" was anything to go by.

Too bad Nicky wasn't open with what was going on behind government walls. Not that Tony couldn't hack into his files, because he could, but the files weren't his. Apparently these files belonged to whoever was above him. Really it was kind of annoying with how high the ladder of control really went. When he found out who was running all of this, he was going to give them a piece of his mind.

Still, it was amusing to hack through the government encrypted walls to show who was the superior mind. As it was right now, he was over half way through breaking into the file when the fire wall changed. Cheeky agents. They were fun though. Well, maybe just the slightest bit amusing when he was extremely bored. Like he was right now. Crime was slow of super villains, and Spiderman had been taking care of most of the lower threat crimes. Good kid. Fun to hang out with. Even if he was most likely too young to drink. No matter what the Spider told him, there was no way that kid was a man yet. Where was he again? Oh yeah, SHIELD's little secret.

Well, it wouldn't be for much longer if he had anything to say about it.

**A maybe story. This would be the prologue. Please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Fury didn't know how to react. He knew Stark would go after their files. Be it concern or to annoy the hell out of his agents, he knew he would do it.

If only he hadn't gone after _those _files. Truly, it was all just a big pain. A pain that could involve the world security council. A pain that would effect too many lives.

In a way, the answer was simple. Let Stark cause the mess and clean up after him. Problem was, letting Stark have first say to relay the information was troubling. Even Howard had no idea what those files hid, despite being so involved. Or Peggy, one of the founders. There were too many personal ties to alter them. And with Tony and Steve around, the information was all the more volatile.

It just wasn't safe. And there was no time to stage a coverup. He glanced over the files once more. This was one secret that not even Hydra could handle. Nick narrowed his eye. He'd have to pick his poison.

...

He picked up the phone and dialed a quickly becoming familar number. There was no indication they were there other than the lack of ringing.

"Activate Project Fe now."

He ended the call then. Stark was pushing his hand. But he would be the one to call it. And he would not be starting it in the middle of a crisis. He just hoped the explosion wouldn't be too extreme. Soldiers and scientists abandoned the building Fe was housed. Knowing Stark, it wouldn't take long for him to arrive and discover some of SHIELD's best kept secrets. And his own father's.

...

Tony had a wicked smirk when he cracked into the file that peaked his current curiousity. It was always good to ruffle the one eyed man's feathers.

He opened the file and began glancing over the information with mild interest. Just enough to mess with Fury. It wasn't until he noticed two words that made him freeze.

Iron Giant.

There was a slight chill.

"Jarvis. Pull up everything you have on Uncle Dean. Now."

"Right away sir."

Holographic files appeared in rapid succession before Tony's eyes. He moved away the "unnecessary" information and focused on his last decade in communication with Tony. He still had the shot of the infamous statue he had worked to design. The name was enhanced in the picture showing quite clearly the carved name, The Iron Giant.

"Those sons of bitches," he muttered with distinct rage in his voice. He stared onto the different photos he had seen when he felt emotional and wanted something more familial when he saw something he hadn't noticed before.

In the next to last photo taken, when he stood next to the boy he talked about, Hogarth, in the background, was a man he knew all too well. His eyes hardened and anger renewed recognizing his own father standing and talking to a military figure. The last known pictures and his father was there. He had told him that he hadn't been with him in years. Hadn't been in the same town, in years.

That lying jerk.

"Jarvis, we're going to Maine. Pull up any map that shows Rockwell."

"Right away sir."

Tony stormed out of the room ready to get some answers.

...

There was chaos as scientists were running around in a mad scramble to leave the warehouse hiding a suspicious laboratory. Inside were pods of a large size. Ones that could easily hold about two people if not for the equipment inside. Three pods all gathered together hiding whoever or whatever was inside.

Thick ice covered the glass hiding the contents as well as preserving.

They were easily ignored as scientists took all the information, papers, electronic documents, any and everything that could connect anyone to anything. They had the call for project Fe to begin. Anyone left behind would be in the crossfire would have to deal with the chaos that would no doubt ensue.

It was just a shame that it was called for before it could be completed. There had been... Complications with the Arctic base, that prevented the project from usual during the battle of Manhattan. And now, it was still premature but forced into action. At least partially. They had no time to thaw the chambers before they left.

No one was really worried. They were certain that if what Fury had relayed were true, then Stark himself would be arriving. No doubt his curiosity would not allow him to walk away without knowing what was inside the chambers.

**Why am I adding to this?**


End file.
